Trouble in ‘King’ Richard’s Paradise as Venus and Serena Williams’ Stepmother Takes a Huge Decision

Richard Williams, 80, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, is currently not in great shape in terms of his health. The former coach continues to be remain ill over the past few years and is currently suffering from dementia.

Meanwhile, reports emerged stating that Richard’s third wife, Lakeisha Williams had filed for bankruptcy to save the Florida Palm Beach Gardens. Incidentally, this is the house where Serena and Venus became superstar tennis players. 

Richard Williams’ third wife filed for bankruptcy to save the Palm Beach Gardens in Florida

When Richard was with Oracene Price, the mother of Venus and Serena, they moved from Compton to Florida and stayed in Palm Beach Gardens. From there, the Williams Sisters’ journey to greatness had began. After splitting up with Oracene in 2002, Richard then married Lakeisha in 2009. However, the couple decided to get a divorce in 2017. Notably, they also have a 9-year-old son named Dylan. 

Even after their divorce, Lakeisha stayed in the Palm Beach Gardens. After falling into foreclosure in 2021, the house was slated to be auctioned in February of this year.

However, Lakeisha could not bear to lose the house and decided to halt her divorce from Richard Williams. As a result, she filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy just one day before the auction as it will force everyone to stop the auction. Notably, a person can file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in order to keep their house from foreclosure. 

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According to the Daily Mail, the reported debt of the house is around $491,562. Moreover, Lakeisha requested the judge to give her a chance to pay the debt in installments for the next five years. Furthermore, she has asked the divorce judge to halt the divorce proceedings as Richard and she united in 2019.

Venus and Serena Williams’ father denied all the claims

Venus and Serena had plenty of memories from that house in Florida as they used to play together all the time. Now, the house is just a shadow of its former self with many neighbors blamed Lakeisha for the poor condition of the house. 

A neighbor spoke with Daily Mail and said, “It would never be in that condition if Richard was still there. He adored that place. Richard is a wonderful man. I wouldn’t hear a word said against him. We were neighbors for many years. Serena and Venus were just kids to me, not superstars.”

Later, Lakeshia admitted to forging Richard’s signature to sell a few things. She also claimed that they didn’t have any food and that’s why such measures were taken. However, Richard’s legal team denied all the rumors. 

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